The Office of the Dean
104 Reynolda Hall, Box 7225
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
(336) 758-5311
Dean of the College Deborah L. Best
E-mail: best@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5312
Deborah L. Best earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from Wake Forest University and received a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined the university faculty in 1972.
Best served as chair of Wake Forest's psychology department from 1994 to 2002. During her tenure at the university, she has won numerous awards, including the 1984 Excellence in Teaching Award, the 1986 Excellence in Research Award, the William C. Archie Faculty Excellence Award in 1986 and 1988, and the 1994 Schoonmaker Faculty Prize for Community Service.
Best is currently the lead researcher on a project for Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County called the "Digital Bridge Initiative." The project examines the effect of providing computers to children living in Habitat for Humanity homes. She is also a longtime board member at the Special Children's School, a non-profit developmental day school in Winston-Salem for children ages 6 months to 7 years.
Associate Dean of the College William Hamilton
E-mail: hamilton@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5311
Associate Dean William S. Hamilton was born in Cincinnati four days after Pearl Harbor was bombed. A slow student at Yale, it took him eleven years to obtain three degrees; he was distracted in his studies of Slavic linguistics by an equally burning love for Bluegrass music. It is true that during this period, he knew Jerry Garcia, but his relationship with Jerry ended when Jerry switched to electric guitar.
Dean Hamilton taught Russian at SUNY Buffalo throughout the seventies, and arrived at Wake Forest in 1982. As Associate Dean, he has specialized in the Judicial System, departures, and returns. As Professor of Russian, he teaches first and fourth year courses, one of which utilizes a book he wrote in 1980 entitled Introduction to Russian phonology and word structure. Some of his more infamous publications include songs such as "Please Mister Dean, Keep my Record Clean". Dean Hamilton is the husband of Cindy, a teacher at Summit School, and father of Sage, class of 1994, and John, class of 1998. His most recent hobby has been carving chess sets.
Associate Dean of the College, Dean of Freshmen Paul Orser
E-mail: orser@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5311
Paul N. Orser, Associate Dean of the College and Dean of Freshmen, was graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.S. in biology and from Emory University with the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biology. From 1974 until 1989 he was Senior Environmental Scientist and Manager of Marketing Services with Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation in Boston.
Since returning to Wake Forest in 1989, he has served in the offices of Admissions, Public Affairs, and the Division of Student Life. He joined the Dean's Office in 1993, where his current responsibilities include counseling with students, First Year Seminars, lower division advising, and the Committee on Academic Affairs. Dean Orser has taught in the Department of Biology and the Honors Program. His wife, Amy, is a musician, teacher and therapist, and his daughter, Emily, graduated from Wake Forest Class in 2001 and is currently enrolled in the Master Teacher Fellows Program (English) at Wake Forest.
Associate Dean of the College, Dean of the Summer Session Toby Hale
E-mail: haleta@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5311
A native of East Tennessee, Dean Hale entered Wake Forest College in the fall of 1961 and was graduated in 1965 with the degree Bachelor of Arts, having majored in English. In 1968 he received the master's degree from Duke University followed in 1972 by the doctorate from Indiana University.
Dean Hale returned to Wake Forest in 1970 in the role of Assistant to the Dean of the College. He has remained at the University since that time, serving in various capacities including those he currently holds, Associate Dean of the College and Dean of the Summer Sessions. When his schedule permits, Dean Hale teaches in the Honors Program.
Academic Advisor, Office Manager, Dean of the College, Karen Bennett
E-mail: bennekm3@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5647
Karen Bennett is a native of Winston-Salem. She joined the Wake Forest University staff in August 1985. She worked in the Department of English and in the office of Academic Development before joining the Deanās Office in 1995.
Karen earned her Bachelor's degree from Winston-Salem State University in May of 1983 and completed her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree in May of 1998. Karen serves as the office manager of the Deanās Office, as a contact and support staff member for faculty in the Program of Humanities and other non-departmental programs, as a Lower Division Academic Advisor, and is also responsible for processing all incoming Advanced Placement for the University.
Assistant to the Dean Dee Perry
E-mail: perryd@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5312
Dee Perry, Assistant to the Dean, is a native of Long Island, New York. Dee left New York at the age of 19 moving to various locations in Florida before finally settling with her family in Winston-Salem in1976.
Dee came to Wake Forest University in 1988 where she began work in the Department of English before joining the Dean's Office in July of 1996. Her specialties include working closely with faculty and chairpersons, as well as that of staff support contact for policy, procedure, and budget matters.
She has two sons, Dallas, who currently serves in the Navy and, Dane, who is an English teacher and soccer coach at Mt. Tabor High School. Her daughter, India, is a member of the Wake Forest University class of 2000.
Administrative Assistant, Dean of the College, Sara Lynn Macy
E-mail: macysl@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-4859
Sara Lynn Macy, Administrative Assistant, is a lifetime North Carolinian who has lived the last two decades in Winston-Salem. A graduate of Greensboro College with a degree in English, she has worked with the GED programs in several community colleges, owned her own business, and helped her husband start his own business. Sara Lynn came to Wake Forest in 1996 and worked in the Office of University Advancement before joining the Dean's Office staff in August of 1998. Sara Lynn's duties include working closely with Dean Orser to coordinate New Student Orientation, First Year Seminars and the assigning of all Lower Division Advisors; assisting Dr. Perry Patterson with the duties related to his position as Chair of the Committee on Lower Division Advising; assisting Dean Escott with Faculty Committee appointments and helping the other support staff cover the front desk.
Sara Lynn has two daughters. Her older daughter, Kelly and her husband Jeff, are both graduates of NC State University. They live in Maryland and are expecting their first child in March of 1999. Her younger daughter, Kim, lives in Winston-Salem and attends Forsyth Technical Community College. Sara Lynn's husband Gray (her best friend for 30 years) operates a local Jackson Hewitt Tax Service franchise.
In her spare time, Sara Lynn enjoys boating (in Oriental, NC - as often as possible), reading, listening to books on tape, cooking and volunteering with several community service groups.
Administrative Assistant, Dean of the College, Bonnie Jones
E-mail: jonesbc@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5313
Bonnie Jones, Administrative Assistant, is a native of Winston-Salem who has also lived in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. After working for American Airlines for many years, she joined the Admissions Office staff at Wake Forest in 1987. In 1994, she moved to the Dean's Office, where her specialties are readmissions, withdrawals, faculty actions, and the judicial system.
Bonnie has three children: a son who is a graduate of UNCC, a son who is studying both at Guilford Tech and Wake Forest, and a daughter who is a junior at High Point University. Her husband, retired from the Federal Aviation Administration, now works for Tradewinds Airlines in Greensboro. Her hobbies include sewing, quilting, and cross-stitching.
Assistant to the Dean of the Summer Session Nancy L. Respess
E-mail: respess@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5664
Ms. Respess is a native of Atlanta, Georgia but considers Winston-Salem, NC her home. She has lived in Georgia (twice), Tennessee, Arkansas, Virginia, and Alabama (twice) before moving to NC in 1973. She was an active volunteer with many organizations, including the Winston-Salem-Forsyth County School System. When her last daughter went off to college, Nancy began working in the Office of the Registrar at Wake Forest University in 1990. In April, 1999, Nancy became Assistant to the Dean of the Summer Sessions.
In January, 1999, Nancy decided to finish a degree she started at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama and is attending High Point University as a full time student in the evening program. She has a daughter, Christy Respess Jones, who is attending the Wake Forest MBA evening program and is Assistant Director in Marketing at Sara Lee Corp. Christy obtained her undergraduate degree from NC State. Her sister, Amy, obtained her undergraduate degree from UNC-Wilmington and her Masters from UNC-Charlotte. Amy was an Academic Advisor in the College of Education at UNC-Charlotte and now is at home with her two children, Callie and Connor Schell.
In her spare time, Nancy enjoys playing with her two grandchildren, taking care of her three cats, one fish, one tarantula, and a minimum of five raccoons at any given time the raccoons live outside.
Secretary II, Dean of the College, Marie J. Hymes
E-mail: hymesmj@wfu.edu
Phone: (336) 758-5311
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Marie moved to Winston-Salem 8 years ago. She has a certification in business with a concentration in Data Processing. A new addition to the Office of the Dean, Marie enjoys the day to day contact with faculty and the student body.
She is married to Timothy, Sr. and has two sons, Timothy, Jr., and Shawn. Her recipe for an enjoyable time would include equal parts walking, tennis, biking, and great Southern home cooking, mixed in with just the right amount of a good yard sale.
